It Could be Worse
by Jlovesallfandoms
Summary: Muggle AU. James and Lily are neighbors who don't really know each other but one day he hears her franctically screaming, finding a hybrid bug in her apartment. James, ready to be the hero, gladly accepts to kill it for her. Based off the tumblr prompt.


Her head felt as if it would explode. In fact, it already felt like it did hours ago. Looking up from her notes she labored upon, she glanced at her clock. The digits flashed from 3:59 to 4:00. _Well, shit._ She had to be back on campus in the lecture hall by six for her chem final under Professor McGonagall. If she really wanted to be punctual, she had to leave at five to make it to the early bus on time so she could pick up coffee on her way to campus. She had been up for twelve hours cramming for the bloody exam, god knew she needed the coffee. As if on cue, her phone buzzed revealing a message from "Doe", Dorcas Meadowes, one of the girls she shared her off campus apartment with.

_Darling, when you stop by Starbucks before the final (and don't deny you were going to) would you kindly buy one for me? I'll pay you back ;)_

Lily sighed and punched in her consent without even asking what she wanted from the overpriced coffee shop; she already knew her usual. With that she sat up from the chair she had been sitting on for the entire day, there was already an imprint where her butt had been sitting. She took one more glance at the clock and decided she had enough time for a quick shower, she studied her brains out all day, and she _needed_ a stress reliever. She put her phone on the speaker while she heat up the water, and on Pandora Mary J Blige's "Runaway Love" echoed calmly through the bathroom walls. She promptly tapped the skip button, as the song did not fit her mood at all. Next played Iggy Azaela's "Fancy", a song she abhorred. Alice must have used her Pandora account. Before she could use another skip, she decided she wasted enough water already, and sucked it up and stepped into the stall, but it wasn't long before she found herself screaming out the lyrics along the speaker.

By the time she stepped out of her shower the mirror was fogged with steam already. She wrapped the nearest towel around herself, a green towel, and unplugged her phone from the speaker before wiping the fogged mirror with her hand. When she looked from the mirror to the counter, she realized she forgot to bring her clothes with her to the bathroom. Sighing she stepped out of the steamy bathroom out to the warm apartment in search of her bedroom. She didn't get very far before she heard a slight buzzing sound to her left.

Now, Lily Evans was a grown woman. She was mature, and graduated top of her class in high school. But she _hated_ wasps. The rest of the bugs were relatively fine, she could deal with a tiny spider or even a small roach once in a while, but when she looked down at her white walls, a massive _thing_ slowly hauled its fat abdomen higher and higher up the wall. She screamed loud and clear as if she was the next victim in a horror movie.

"Shit," She mumbled under her breath, adjusting her towel tighter around her else was home, Doe and Alice were in the university's library studying, and that only meant one thing. She had to kill it herself. She lowered herself to take a better glance at the creature, earning another shudder through her spine.

Lily took a deep breath and told herself, "You're overreacting, Lily." She examined the bug, not even deciding what it was. It looked like an abnormally large cockroach, but its legs were too long, long enough to be a spider, but that didn't explain the faint buzzing sound she heard as if she was staring at a hornet. "Okay, Lily, you can handle this. You survived Professor Flitwick's final last year, you went on a date with Diggory once, you graduated valedictorian in high school; you can handle a petty little bug."

She left momentarily to search for the right tool to use to kill the little marauder. She swiftly stepped into the small kitchenette and picked out a roll of paper towels and a counter wipe; she guessed the bug would leave a mark on the white walls. By the time she returned to the exact same spot where she left the bastard, she couldn't find it anymore.

"Fuck," She screamed again, frantically searching everywhere around her. She knew she was overreacting, she felt like an idiot, but anyone who would have seen the bug would have reacted the same. She bet even the biggest baddest guy she knew would have cowered in the sight of the intruder. A fist pounded on the door, and she looked questionably in the direction of the intrusion.

"Is everything alright in there?" A manly voice asked. He sounded like a mix of curiosity and amusement. Her neighbor must have heard her shouting.

"Yeah, of course," She answered shakily. She did not want to answer the door, as she was not even dressed, and a massive hybrid bug was on the loose in her apartment.

"Are you sure?" Her neighbor didn't seem to believe her.

She bit her lip and considered letting him in. She only saw her apartment neighbors around a few times. The men who occupied the apartment to her left were each somewhat muscled in their own way, and she was sure whichever one of them that was at her door could kill the bug for her if she asked. But how much of an idiot would they think she was? She decided she didn't care. Running towards her room she quickly threw on the first shirt and pair of shorts that was in her sight and answered the door. The man seemed surprised she even greeted him. He was considerably taller than she was with unkempt dark hair and an amused look on his face as he looked her over.

"Are you alright miss…"

"Evans, Lily Evans." Lily introduced herself in a daze. If Doe or even Alice was with her, they would have laughed at how stupid she was acting. There was a hybrid bug on the loose in her apartment, and she was wasting precious seconds appreciating the appearance of her somewhat attractive neighbor. _Stupid,_ she mentally slapped herself. She blinked twice and shook her head. "Right, um… there seems to be a… _bug_ released in my apartment."

If he was amused before, he looked as if he was ready to burst into laughter now. "A bug?"

"It's not just _any_ bug." She rolled her eyes as if he was the one acting daft.

"Oh, really?" He started to straighten his back and raise his chin as if he was ready to act as her hero.

"Okay, _tough guy_, help me look for it and kill it yourself if you think it's just a little bug." Lily sighed and stepped aside letting him enter her apartment. He looked around slowly, expecting to find a small spider somewhere on her wall. She pointed towards where she left her paper towels and cleaning wipes. "That's where I last saw the marauder."

"Marauder?" He raised an eyebrow. He must really think she's a crazy woman.

"Yes, that's what I call him." He must think she's really, _really_ crazy.

He shrugged and searched in the tiny living room while she looked through her kitchen for the marauder. It wasn't long before she heard a girlish scream emanating from the nearby room followed by her neighbor clearing his throat. She would have burst into laughter after hearing his scream, but she decided to be nice and simply run to her living room, only to find him staring at the marauder.

"What the hell _is_ that?" He asked in awe, his face devilishly close to the marauder.

"I don't know, just kill it." Lily tossed him her paper towel roll and readied herself a wipe for after he would kill it.

He only looked dumbly at the flat paper towels and then back at the bug. "You expect me to kill that thing with a paper towel?"

"Do you want a bloody _knife_ to throw at it?"

He shook his head and stood from his spot, nearly running to the door. She would have thought he was running away in fear until he said back to her, "Stay there, I'm going to get something real fast."

She looked at the now closed door ridiculously. _Prat,_ just leaving her with the marauder like that. Who did he think he was? She sat next to the wall, staring at the marauder with eyes that could kill, assuring that the bastard wouldn't move or fly away again. She didn't spend much time alone with the marauder before her neighbor knocked on the door once more, and she yelled back that it was open. When he came back into the small living room, he was holding a pair of crutches in his arms as if it was an everyday sight.

"I tore my ACL last year," He shrugged when he noticed her staring at the crutches. He was almost as crazy as her.

He sat on the floor and pointed the end of the crutch towards the marauder, readying himself to kill it finally. Lily watched as he closed his eyes and looked away as he stabbed the creature once, hitting the wall. When he opened his eyes again and looked, the squished "marauder" was limp under the crutch, its antennas still moving. He mentally shook away the need to squirm. When he finally removed the crutch from the wall, it left a black squish mark on Lily's wall.

"Here," Lily murmured as she stepped beside him, silently asking him to move letting her wipe the wall. While she cleaned the wall, he walked outside and tapped the crutch to the sidewalk, letting the marauder fall to the pavement. It really was a menacing creature, and he let himself shudder as it made a final twitch. When he walked back into her apartment she was throwing away the wipes into her trash bin. She looked up at him and managed a small smile.

"Thanks for killing it for me." Lily glanced at him again. He really was cute.

"Does this make me your hero?" He smirked and brushed off his shoulders.

"I don't know, that was a pretty heroic manly scream back there." She laughed, referring to his yelp when he found the marauder.

He ruffled his hand through his hair. "It was a war cry."

"Right," She laughed again. When her laughter died down, she realized she didn't even know his name. It seemed stupid to ask him now, even a little rude. When she glanced at the clock she realized it was already five. Her eyes widened and she grabbed her bag up from the floor in haste. "I'm sorry, I have to go."

He looked back from her to the clock. "McGonagall's final?"

"How did you know?" She stopped in her tracks.

"My friend is taking the same one today." He shrugged nonchalantly.

"Oh, really? Who?" Lily loosened her grip on her bag.

"Remus, he lives with us next door." He said. Now she really felt stupid. Her next door neighbor was in the same class as her all this time, and she didn't even notice. When he looked back at the clock, he ran his hand through his hair again, a habit she noticed every time. "If you want, I can drive you to campus. I'm already taking Remus anyways."

"No, it's fine, you've already done enough." Lily smiled politely. She wondered if he still saw her as some insane woman chasing down the marauder. "I do have to go though."

He nodded and stepped out the door, her following behind him. She turned and shoved her keys into the keyhole, quickly turning and locking it. "Good luck on your final."

"Thanks," Lily smiled and walked towards the parking lot.

"Oh, and Lily?" She turned to glance at her neighbor once more. He flashed her a grin that she was positive should have belonged on the front of some magazine. She mentally kicked herself for thinking such. "My name is James."


End file.
